LeBron's New Legacy

We will never view LeBron James the same way again.  For years he has been scrutinized under a microscope far brighter than one any other player has ever faced.  Rather than appreciate his accomplishments and watch in awe at his athletic brilliance, we picked apart his flaws.  We were never satisfied with his eye popping statistics or MVP trophies.  We refused to place him among the all-time greats, alongside Jordan, Bird, Magic and Kobe.  He could never be on their level because he wasn't a winner.  He was a King without a ring.

Until now.

LeBron James finally silenced his critics by reaching the top of the mountain.  It took him nine years to do it, but all that matters is that he won.  He's a champion.  Not only that, but he carried the team on his shoulders to do it, leaving no doubt that he is the league's most dominant active player.  He averaged 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in the postseason.  He established a new league record for the number of playoff games in a season with at least 25, 5 and 5 in those categories.  He marked his spot in history with transcendent games that he took over and won nearly on his own - such as his 45 point series saving performance in Game 6 in Boston.  Then he capped it all off with an exclamation mark in the close out game of the Finals with a 26-11-13 triple-double.  LeBron didn't just win, he dominated, providing one of the best post-season performances of all time.

This was in stark contrast to the LeBron we had known.  The one that always came up short.  The one we said couldn't produce in the clutch.  The one that disappeared at the end of close games.  We watched it happen in last year's Finals against Dallas.  LeBron now claims that losing in last year's Finals was the best thing that ever happened to him.  It opened his eyes, showed him he had to change his game in order to get to that next level.  It showed.  This was a different LeBron James.

So what's left to criticize?  Will we hold it against him that he's won only one title?  Perhaps one isn't enough to vault him to the top of the list.  He's still not MJ and he never will be.  He'll never equal Bill Russell's 11 rings.  He still has a long way to go to surpass many of the all-time greats, but there's no doubt that winning a title drastically alters LeBron's legacy.  He no longer has that stain on his resume holding him back.  We'll no longer be able to wonder how far down the list of all-time greats he would fall without a ring, but now we'll wonder how far up the list he can climb.  Top 10?  Top 5?  It's not out of the question.  Not now.  Not when he has a ring of his own.

We hated him for the Decision.  We hated him for his ignorance, for his arrogance, for his betrayal.  We wanted him to win "not one, not two, not three..." titles, but none.  He was the villain that we wanted to see fail. 

Except now he has succeeded.  That changes everything.  Now we'll never be able to think of him the same way again.  We may still not like him, but now we have to respect him.  He's the best player of this generation and I'll always appreciate the opportunity to witness greatness.